Sex is everywhere. You can't be exposed to television, movies, music, advertising, water cooler conversation, or just walk down the street without being bombarded by sex. Sex is in video games as well. Why? Is it because it's part of the human experience and therefore deserves a place in a culture-affecting medium or is it because sex sells? Playboy editor Scott Alexander said, "If there is a new technology, we will try to fuck it". I don't think we should fuck this one.

A lot of the pro-sex static comes from the "games are art" crowd. If games are art, do they need sex? Let's look at some actual art.


This is The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. It's a painting of (you guessed it) the birth of the Roman goddess Venus, a deity who aroused humans to physical love. It's art.


This is from Googling the word "sex". With the exception of my masterful editing, this is not art.

Here's the difference. Sex is cheap. Sexuality is art. As an artistic medium it's not right to force sexuality out of video games for the sake of morality or an obscenely flawed ratings system. By the same token, it's not right to force sex into games when it doesn't belong there. I'm not talking about the more tasteful stuff right now. I'm talking about sex in games for either the shock value and profit (BMX XXX) or for raunchy humor (Hot Coffee or the Saint's Row 2 Prostitution game). Granted these examples aren't exactly looking for kudos from the "games are art" community (they call them beard strokes), but it still hurts the medium as a whole. If you're into looking at drawings and numbers get it on more power to you, but it has no place in a mainstream retail title. I'm not in favor of censorship, but there's a reason why hentai games are a sub-genre of video games.


But enough about the obvious bad apples in the bunch, let's talk about the group that seems to be doing their very best to add some legitimacy to the sexual content in their games, Bioware (What, you thought you'd make it through this thing without them being mentioned?). Bioware is the vanguard of video game relationship simulation right now (See what I did there?). Their latest attempt at "sex scenes" are done well. It's all about subtlety; A furtive look, a little tasteful skin. Unfortunately the lead up to the actual scene is too sudden and forced. There's no "are they, aren't they" drama. You know as soon as you recruit a character whether or not you'll get to bone them. If they'd just hang up this idea that every choice in the game has to be made by the player they'd be able to give you a decent love interest instead of shoehorning them in then killing them off later.

As well done as they are, it seems like the sex scenes are just a check in a box for Bioware, and with their success I can see more like it on the horizon. I'm not saying that sex flat out doesn't beling in games (though I doubt I personally would be interested in a game heavily driven by sex), but I do think that, like any serious topic, it needs to be eased into video games in small, tasteful bites. I don't play video games to get off, and anyone who does is playing for the wrong reason. If games are ever to become a form of entertainment respected on the same level as some of the more established ones, we need to go in head first, not dick first.

"It's like I've eaten spam a few times from a few popular brands and in a few serving suggestions, and found I'm not really keen on spam, 'cos it's salty and slimy and looks like something you might find in the alien queen's litter box. But I've found myself in a world that's completely obsessed with spam. People spend their entire lives in pursuit of spam. Every single advert on TV sells their product by placing it alongside spam. Movies have to work in at least one spam scene to reach the broadest audience. People break up and get divorced because they don't exchange enough spam. Soldiers are given time out to go have some spam. Low-risk prisoners are given spam visiting rights. People die for spam. Entire economies have been based around spam. Selling spam is the world's oldest profession. The lack of spam has been linked to mental disorders. The only thing getting teenagers through difficult puberty is the thought of one day getting to have spam of their very own."
—Yahtzee

Tonight, we craft mine.

In case you're not aware, Minecraft is a sandbox construction game of the highest caliber.It let's you build awesome stuff and doesn't afraid of anything.

If you're interested in playing, here's what to do:

Go here and download the custom client (You'll need to register).

Next go here and register (quit whining there's isn't even an email confirmation for this one).

Now go to the folder you put the custom client in and open the run.bat file.

Finally, put this (http://www.minecraft.net/play.jsp?server=46ea0a54d0e5ffc22ff254802bb5fc78) into the url field, click go and away you go!

The server's up right now, but just for organization's sake let's say the festivities kick off at 5:00 Central/ 6:00 Eastern/ ???? Mountain (because if you live in mountain time fuck you anyway).

Also, be sure to get on skype! My skype name is analoge2. Send me your contact information and we can have a gay old time.

I'm out like the gout.

So Minecraft is this amazing sandbox game where you can build things on a giant map with a bunch of other people. I made a server today and this is the fruit of Ryu89 and my labor!



If you're interested in playing (Protip: you are), here's what to do.

Go here and download the custom client (You'll need to register).

Next go here and register (quit whining there's isn't even an email confirmation for this one).

Finally, go to the folder you put the custom client in and open the run.bat file.

Then put this (http://www.minecraft.net/play.jsp?server=46ea0a54d0e5ffc22ff254802bb5fc78) into the url field, click go and away you go!

See you there!


(not made by me :3)

My face when I accidentally clicked on the Halo Legends link FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME:

So I got my present today, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Let's jump right in and see what I got.

First, a card:



What's that? a hand drawn Captain Strong?! Wait, do my eyes deceive me?



No, they don't! That's the coolest thing ever!

Alright, alright get it together. What else have we got?

A neat button:



A cool sticker:



And the Piece de Resistance, the incredibly well made Mother 3 fan handbook!



This thing is badass. It's got all these neat claymation illustrations (I think they were part of the original games advertising or something) as well as seperate illustrations of every enemy, including one of my favorites:



And check out this bitchin' poster that it comes with:





So it goes without saying (even though I said it) that this is the best present ever. I don't know who got it for me, but they rule.

I posted half of a comic purchased at the door of PAX yesterday. This is the second half (or first half if you want to be difficult about things) of that comic. I feel as if I should make a few things known beforehand. I neither support or un-support Mormons. I bet some of them are pretty rad dudes. Lastly, my scan abilities are less than desirable, so for the unreadable parts on the notebook paper, I have included the text below with spelling and punctuation intact.

Enjoy.






Dear Jesus or other high ranking Angels that may find this letter,
My name is Nathan Rogers, I'm a member of the LDS Church. I'm writing you this letter as a very desparate attempt to save my family and friends who have made a colony here in heaven on the planet Kolob. I don't expect to save myself and I don't really think I deserve to live. Because right now I don't really understand the difference between heaven and hell and I really don't believe you exist at all.


We've been here for about 5 months. We came here from the planet earth to be by your grace and to see all our loved ones again who passed away during the Great Holy War. Maybe it's because we cheated and came to heaven the wrong way. That's why it's been so hard.

Coming to Kolob has been a struggle for all of us. We lost a quarter of our settlers of New Salt Lake during the first 2 months from radiation sickness while we were still building safe housing that can withstand the immense radiation from the God Star. Most of the deaths were of the more able bodied men doing the construction work of our housing. Sacrifices were to be expected, I thought their deaths were just a minor set back, and very soon they would be reunited with their loved ones when we located exactly where you castle is along with the cities where all the normal angels and saved lived.




What my dad said, really disturbed me. Until that time I never doubted that I would be the one to locate heaven underground and save every one. I put all my trust in Thomas Woodruff, my parents, and the Mormon scientist. They were all so smart. I mean, the scientists discovered a way to travel here to Kolob using wave propulsion engine and they created the Digdug arm that drills and blows dirt clear to move through solid ground with ease. With such brilliant minds, who am I to question anything they say.




Tunneling underground reminds me a lot more of earth, compared to the surface, with the extreme heat and radiation. I don't really like thinking about what we left behind on earth. I don't like to dwell.














After I escaped the underground that's when I decided to write you this letter. What am I supposed to think, now? Is everything I've grown up to believe all of my life and everyone that I've loved and trusted wrong? Is there no heaven, no golden paradise, no God? Are all my fondest hopes and aspirations, everything I believe an elaborate fable?
I've lost everything and everyone in life and death.
I can't return home. I won't spread what I've discovered to everyone else. They wouldn't accept me, anyhow. Please help them if...